It was already late at night. Inside Taro's lounge, the lights were still on as he was writing vigorously.
"Knock, knock, knock."
There was a knock at the door.
"Come in!"
Without turning his head, Taro continued writing. His left hand reached for the wine bottle on the edge of the desk, wanting a sip to relieve his fatigue, but he touched a hand instead.
Vivi gently brushed his hand away and said softly, "It's already very late. Write the rest tomorrow!"
Taro was originally a bit embarrassed, but seeing that Vivi didn't mind, he suddenly felt he was being too uptight and gave an awkward smile.
"It's okay, I'm almost finished!"
Vivi shook her head. "Then you can't drink any more alcohol. Drink this instead!"
As she spoke, Vivi handed over a glass of juice; it was the apple juice she liked very much.
Taro was stunned for a moment. He felt that Vivi was being a bit too gentle tonight, making it difficult for him to adapt for a moment.
"Vivi, what's with you today...?"
Vivi's voice dropped slightly. "Taro, you must be very tired, right?"
Taro raised an eyebrow, a bit bewildered, as he heard Vivi speak again.
"Shirahoshi told me about some things that happened on Fish-Man Island..."
Vivi's eyes lowered slightly, her tone becoming even more gentle.
"Alabasta, Fish-Man Island, the Marine... almost everything is hidden in your heart. You've been silently carrying so much alone..."
Just as Taro was about to speak, Vivi reached out a hand to stop him.
"And Betty, the expectations she carries are also resting on your shoulders."
Taro was even more surprised. "How do you know about Betty...?"
There were actually tears shimmering in Vivi's eyes.
"Taro, do you really take me for a fool? The 'knowledge' Betty is learning, and the things she usually says! I know everything!"
Taro remained silent for a long while. He pushed his chair back a bit, took Vivi's hand, and let her lean against the desk. He showed a smile.
"Vivi, I'm actually not as tired as you think. Those things are just the way the world should be; I'm only recording them in words."
At sixteen, Vivi was already elegant and poised. Standing nearly 170 cm tall, she was considered quite short in the world of pirates, but according to the aesthetic standards of his previous life, she was already perfect.
Taro, who was around 190 cm tall, sat in his chair and tilted his head slightly, looking at Vivi's eyelashes moistened by tears.
"Many of my ideas are practically digging at the roots of the noble class. You are a princess of a kingdom, so I originally thought..."
This time, Vivi didn't pull her hand away; instead, she let Taro hold it. She shook her head.
"Betty told me a term, 'Constitutional Monarchy.' I feel that even without nobles, as long as the people are still there, a nation is still a nation. Besides, you've even left a way out for the enlightened nobles."
Taro sighed. The Nefeltari Royal Family was truly wise beyond belief!
He now truly looked at this father and daughter, Cobra and Vivi, in a new light.
Thinking this, he picked up the glass of apple juice and took a large gulp.
"Taro, let's get married!"
Vivi was silent for a moment before suddenly speaking.
"Pfft—"
The juice in Taro's mouth instantly sprayed out.
"Cough, cough."
He coughed violently twice.
"You're unwilling?" Vivi turned her head, not letting Taro see her expression.
Taro hurriedly used a tissue to wipe Vivi's left sleeve, which had been splashed with juice.
"No, no! I just choked on the juice!"
Vivi's face turned slightly red. She turned back and stared straight at Taro, seemingly a bit annoyed by his lame excuse.
Taro felt a bit guilty under her gaze. His eyes dodged a few times as he tried to calm his pounding heart.
"Why would you suddenly bring this up?"
Holy crap, has my luck finally turned?
In two lifetimes, this is the first time a girl has confessed to me!
"Ultimately, does this mean you're unwilling?"
Vivi had learned from Shirahoshi about some of the things Taro had done on Fish-Man Island, how he had single-handedly held up the island-sized noah and saved Fish-Man Island.
He had also prepared many complete plans to help Fish-Man Island achieve its thousand-year-old wish.
Thinking of everything he had done in Alabasta, Vivi's heart was moved.
Coupled with tonight, seeing the light still on in Taro's room late at night and the planning documents spread across the desk after entering, she could no longer suppress her emotions and spoke the words of "proposal."
"No, it's not that I'm unwilling. You're so beautiful, how could I possibly be unwilling!" Taro quickly waved his hands, so anxious that sweat was almost coming out. He scratched his hair.
"Shouldn't this kind of thing be discussed with King Cobra? Besides, you're still too young right now. Let's talk about it in two years..."
Vivi's brow furrowed. "There's nothing to discuss with Father. I've heard him praise you so much that I've almost grown calluses on my ears!"
"Since you think it's too early now, then we can get engaged first. According to what you said, we'll get married in two years. I have no objection!"
Taro was dumbstruck. After a long while, his mouth twitched.
"Vivi, are you serious?"
"Taro, are you being reluctant?" Vivi tilted her head and asked back.
Taro rubbed his cheeks and took Vivi's hand again, showing a brilliant smile.
"Not at all, how could that be? Look how happily I'm smiling!"
Vivi stared at Taro for a while before finally nodding.
"Mm, then it's settled. I'm leaving!"
Taro was stunned. What the hell is this?
We just established our relationship; shouldn't we have an in-depth discussion to deepen our feelings?
Only when Vivi's hand was about to pull away did Taro react. He applied a slight force with his hand.
"Vivi, don't leave yet. Let's have an in-depth exchange. I happen to have some details about the development of Elmar to talk to you about!"
Vivi, however, was like a startled little beast; she jumped, forcefully pulled her hand back, and fled without looking back!
Taro was dumbfounded. After a good while, he put down the few sheets of paper in his hand.
"When I said in-depth exchange, I really just meant an exchange of ideas!"
Downstairs, Pell was already getting a bit impatient. He instinctively felt that it was not quite right for Princess Vivi to go to Taro's room late at night.
It was only out of trust in Taro's character that he didn't follow immediately.
Just as he was about to rush up to investigate, Vivi ran out of the room.
Pell quickly went to meet her. "Your Highness Vivi, are you alright?"
Vivi rested one hand on her chest, leaning against the wall and gasping for breath, before shaking her head.
"I'm fine."
A trace of doubt flashed in Pell's eyes. He stared at Vivi for a moment and noticed that she seemed to have cried, and there were some stains on her light blue dress. He couldn't help but feel a surge of anger.
"Did Taro bully you?"
As he spoke, he instantly transformed into his Falcon form, ready to go settle the score with Taro.
Vivi was quick and grabbed Pell's arm.
"Don't go! He didn't bully me. Really, I'm fine!"
Pell still didn't believe it and was about to break free, but then he heard Vivi speak again.
"Tell Father that I've decided to get engaged to Taro!"
Pell's eyes widened in disbelief, and then his eyes seemed to spit fire as he gritted his teeth and said,
"That bastard!"
Vivi stopped Pell. "It's not what you think!"
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